Cycle 2 week 4 snatches.......

Cut back week.....
Written enough on my blog today so this is gonna be brief!
Went like this -

20 x 7 12kg v02 snatches
5/5 x 6 16kg snatches
5/5 x 5 20kg snatches

250 reps

5/5 x 5 24kg cleans

Introduced these to get a feel for the big bell - and they felt easy NICE

Ttfn sng

aprils efforts........

REVIEW

plan for April was 4 x work out per as follows -

tuesday-snatch

thursday-powerswing/snatch holds

saturday-shoulders/back - more barbell

sunday-swing add volume

stuck very much to the plan and missed only 1 workout due to heavy work load and sheer exhaustion

snatch is in 2nd cycle which = 7 reps for v02 and introducing the 20kg into the heavy work - all went well, powerswings again went right to plan and im heading rapidly to the goal of 20 sets @20kg and 10 sets@24kg, shoulders have improved but still not leaps and bounds due to issue in left side back work has increased in volume and weight all good here the high volume swing workout has moved to 35 mins/700 reps and continues to build i have started to cycle every 4th workout with a heavier shorter session

been throwing in some sledgehammer work as and when i felt good and more recently some waiter walks to help with stability of the shoulders?

so pretty much according to plan very pleased

the numbers -

420 military press (various weights) 

130 barbell press (various weights)

1514 snatch various weights v02/heavy

2860 swings various weights/styles - 1 x missed workout

430 kb row

142 bb row

few sets of deadlifts, snatch holds and biceps curls thrown in too not particullaly many just as i felt

Diet/weight - NO CHANGE!!!!!!!!!!

so in summary im pleased with the consistency and content of my workouts and could not have done much more 

as far as diet etc goes its very disappointing - i really need to sort it out 

PLANS

plan for MAY is to finish the snatch and powerswing cycles, test the snatch 16kg amap/5 mins continue to build the volume workout and maintain the shoulder/back volume and start to add in some 24kg cleans and 1 hd swings ? all counds easy eh?

tuesday - snatch/heavy cleans

thursday - powerswing/snatch holds

saturday - pressing/rows

sunday - swing - heavy 1hd?

looking good good sng

goal setting.........

coming to the end of another month and about to churn out a review has led me to think - its ok just churning out the workouts,hrs,reps BUT what are my goals - long term and short term?

so after much thought here's what im thinking -

short term
when i get to the end of the current snatch cycle i am going to do a 5 min snatch test with the 16kg
then start the a new cycle using the 16kg for vo2 and the 20 for ALL of the heavy reps

i am going to start some work on pull up - negatives initially and most likely supported but a start is a start

build the volume workout to 45 mins then gradually increase weight cycle volume with heavy every 4th workout

start to introduce the 24kg bell into 1 workout as cleans or swings - 1 hand

continue back and shoulder training as is - my left shoulder isnt going to allow massive leaps on this one so plod on i guess

medium term
continue as above

at the end of the next snatch cycle do a 5 min snatch test with the 20kg

then start the a new cycle using the 16kg for vo2 and the 20/24 for ALL of the heavy reps

continue the pull up progressions

start to add double cleans/swings into the mix

long term
who knows? id love to get a qualification or do an sfg cert - but until i have a little more money, thats a while away

so there it is thats the way forward - no longer blind and a plan of sorts

sng

Quickie in the garden......

Just time for a few hammer swings and waiter walks after work

Went like this -

10/10 x 12 sledgehammer swing's

1/1 x 3 100ft 12kg waiter walks

Hell yes

Sng

Volume swings......

Plan has been to increase this Sunday workouts to around 45 mins and today was a step in the right direction increased by 3 sets to 35 mins -

20 x 35 16kg 2 hd swings

700 reps - sweat so much I thought I was melting!!!
But apart from some discomfort in my right hip everything held up well

That's all sng

shoulders, back and biceps..........

looked forward to this for most of the day and then as it drew near i
lost interest and almost binned it in favor of a double tomorrow (like
that would have happened) - but thanks to some sunshine and a gap in the
day - i went for it like a crazed animal!!
shoulders
5/5/5/5 x 2 12kg military press
5/5/5/5 x 2 16kg military press

26kg x 10 barbell press
36kg x 8 x 2 barbell press
38.5kg x 6 x 2 barbell press

these were good but my left shoulder is still shit - i have the power
but not the stability in the joint - resulting in pain in left rear side
delt

back
2 x 16kg x 10 x 2 kb row
10/10 x 2 20kg kb row
10/10 24kg kb row

36kg x 8 x 3 barbell row

strong but slight discomfort in shoulder

biceps 5/5 x 3 12kg curls (bell by the horn)+ 3/4 12kg curl failed to
make 5/5

NICE sng

Week 11 powerswings.......good God!

Well I've hardly even got the energy to type after that-my hands are fried my back was screaming for me to stop and I almost drowned in my own sweat!!!! BUT my God I feel good I really noticed how far I've come in the last couple of months just shows its all worth it.

Went like this -

20 x 10 20kg powerswing
10 x 7 24kg powerswing

2/2 12kg 25 sec snatch hold
3/3 16kg 25 sec snatch hold

Holy cow......

Laters sng

Cycle 2 week 5.........

Biggest week yet and boy did I feel it......
I was tired to start but the light snatches energised me and I altered the rep scheme on the heavy snatches and alternated sets of 10 left 10 right - this was a massive change and tested me to the point of absolute exhaustion and almost total failure....NICE

Went like this -

26 x 7 12kg v02 snatches 15/15

8 x 10 16kg snatch (alternating sets l/r)
6 x 10 20kg snatch (alternating sets l r)
4 x 10 16kg snatch(alternating sets l/r)

5/5 x 2 24kg cleans - oh my God these were tough

That's it sng

Hammering and waiter walks.....

Quick 15 min workout in the garden with the kids....

10/10 x 10 hammer swing +/-30 sec rest
0/1 12kg get up - left side fail (need time and concentration to do this)
1/1 x 2 12 kg 100ft waiter walks (shoulder stabilisation)

Not planned but a good little session all the same

That is it sng

Sunday swings - done............

Little under the weather today and very tired (which in turn means my hip and right leg hurts like hell - the more tired I am the worse it hurts?) - all down to a very late night and a bottle of scotch - can't do it like I used to......

But after a battle with the demons ("it's only one workout - give it a miss" etc etc) - I got my fat behind out I to the dungeon and did a straight forward swing workout with an increase in volume as planned

Went like this -

32 x 20 2hd 16kg swings

640 reps=sore hands

Went ok couple of interruptions from on vet and the boys - but can't complain they generally let me get on with it!

Laters sng

missed powerswings and shoulder/back brought forward.......

after a couple of very tough days at work - i was exhausted to the point of "oh my god my body hurts!" and missed the planned powerswing workout....

as a result of the rest i felt a whole lot better today and brought forward saturdays workout - so today was shoulders/back and a bicep curl or 3!

went like this -

all kettlebells today

5/5/5/5 x 2 12kg military press

10/10 16kg 

9/9

8/8

7/7

6/6

5/5 20kg military press

4/4

3/3

2/2

1/1

12kg bottoms up press practice 

0/1 x 2 (failed left side both attempts- 2nd one closest)

10/10 x 2 16kg row

10/10 x 2 20kg row

10/10 24kg

9/9

8/8

7/7

6/6

5/5 x 3 12kg bicep curls 

in short fely great - sun shining and i was smiling

sng 

Cycle 2 week 4 snatches.......with a twist!

It was cut back week on the plan which couldn't have come at a better time - work been manic today and got some pain in my left shoulder which is related to sleep position more than anything
So plan was 20 sets v02 12kg and 11 sets 5/5 16kg (Inc 1 set 20kg) - but decided to change the plan and get the job done quicker and test myself in the process

Went like this -

20 x 7 12kg v02 snatch

5/5 16kg snatch
1 - 5 16kg snatch ladder (1/1+2/2+3/3+4/4+5/5)
5/5 x 3 20kg snatch
1 - 5 16kg snatch ladder
5/5 16kg snatch

So 18.5 mins in total - sweating buckets and very pleased with the 30 rep sets - both strength and grip were very capable - NICE

done sng

Hammer time.......

The sun was shining and I was itching to do something - and not wanting to exhaust myself too much prior to tomorrows snatch workout - I decided to go a few rounds with the truck tyre armed with a sledgehammer

6 x 20/20 off +/-1 main rest

And it felt good!!

Sng

Heavy swings......

After 3 weeks upping the numbers today I upped the weight and went fast and furious - 15 secs work/15 secs rest

Like this - 

20 x 10 20kg 2hd swings

10 x 10 24kg 2hd swings 

10 x 10 20kg 2hd swings 

Felt good had slight twinge in lower left back but nothing serious - grip was fried at the end and had forearms like steel - nice

That's all sng

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strong as hell-shoulders and back............

Saturday is my favourite workout and today was no exception - trained shoulders hard and back equally so......

By the time I was done in was shaking like a leaf!!

Went like this. -

5/5/5/5 x 2 12kg military press 

10/10 x 3 16kg military press 

10 x 26kg bb press

8 x 31kg x 2 sets bb press 

6 x 36kg x 3 sets bb press

10 x 2 sets Double 16kg kb row

10/10 x 2 20kg kb row

5/5 x 3 24kg kb row

28.5kg x 10 bb row

33.5kg x 10 x 3 bb row

46kg x 5 x 3 deadlift

Shattered!  May be sore tomorrow methinks......

Latest sng 

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Week 10 powerswings ........ Sh@t a brick!

After missing last weeks session I was back on schedule tonight and it was tough as hell - the missed week seemed to make this so much harder....

Went like this -

18 x 10 20kg powerswings
10 x 7 24kg powerswings

2 x 25 sec l/r 12kg snatch hold
2 x 25 sec l/r 16kg snatch hold

In short - knackered!

Sng

Cycle 2 week 3 snatches......

Trying to get my workouts back in line and on the right days meant training 2 days on the trot - both workouts were 30 mins and Max effort BUT so pleased to say I managed it and it feels so good

Week 3 of this cycle was the toughest yet but despite having 600 swings in my legs from last night I felt very strong and managed with no additional rest

Went like this -

24 x 7 12kg v02 snatch 15/15

5/5 x 5 16kg snatch
5/5 x 3 20kg snatch
5/5 x 10 16kg snatch

Done and dusted - rest day tomorrow

Sng

Sunday swings (on a Monday!)......

This went well and I managed the whole workout with no extra breathers just set the timer and swung my way through it......

Its not a world beater but its the best I have done this year.....pleased !

30 x 20 16kg 2hd swings

That is it sng

saturdays shoulders and back ........

after missing thursdays powerswing workout due to working late and
collecting kids duties and my other love (newcastle united) i was back
at it with a bang today!
shoulders was kb presses followed by barbell presses and back was kb
rows and barbell rows plus some deadlifts - not done deads for 10 years
plus and technique was poor but i was strong and pleased with my efforts..

went like this -
shoulders
5/5 x 2 x 2 12kg military press
5/5 x 5 16kg military press

26kg x 10 barbell press
28.5kg x 8 barbell press
31kg x 6 barbell press
33.5kg x 8 barbell press
36kg x 6 x 2 sets barbell press

back
10/10 x 2 16kg kb rows
10/10 x 2 20kg kb rows
5/5 x 2 24kg kb rows

26kg x 10 bb rows
31kg x 10 x 3 sets bb rows

46kg x 5 x 2 sets deadlift

strong as f#ck!

change to schedule this week - will train monday/tuesday/thursday as no
chance to fit in a sunday work out

laters sng

...the artillery.....

Sping cleaned the garage lined up the artillery - Bring on training al fresco!

march in a nut shell.........

REVIEW

plan for march was 4 x work out per as follows -

tuesday-snatch

thursday-powerswing/snatch holds

saturday-shoulders/back

sunday-swing

 

stuck to the plan and missed only 1 workout through family commitments

 

i planned to swing, snatch and press and introduce some back work via rows (kb/bb) that is exactly what i have done - swing wise ive kept the powerswing volume high and incread weight where i can and ive increased the volume on the 2hd swings - snatch wise ive started the 2nd cycle of training and upped the number of reps on the vo2 work and added heavier snatches to the heavy work as for shoulders i have stepped back from the clean and press simply because a cannot hit the correct groove every time on my left side which results in a very painful joint - by using the kb military press and a barbell i can get into the groove and stay there without too much pain

back work is still in its infancy and i will develop this into a pattern/cycle as per the snatch and the powerswing as time goes on - at the moment im just getting the feel for it

 

the numbers -

160 long cycle clean and press

432 military press (various weights) 

108 barbell press (various weights)

1594 snatch various weights v02/heavy

2440 swings various weights/styles - 1 x missed workout

150 kb row

40 bb row

 

last months review said this ...... 

"again i planned to get control of my weight - not without success for the early part of the period then 3 x birthdays fell closely together and i gained what i had lost - BUT on a positive i have changed shape and despite the numbers on the scale my waist is smaller and my upper body has a better shape"

 

and to be fair and honest - NOTHING HAS CHANGED - i may even have gained a few pounds

i have to get my head in the right place and take control - no more to be said 

 

so in summary im pleased with the consistency and content of my workouts and could not have done much more 

as far as diet etc goes its very disappointing - i really need to sort it out 

 

PLANS

 

plan for april is to continue building the 4 workouts as i have been doing and cycle the shoulder/back work better - if i can i would like to use the outdoor equipment at the local park to do some partial pull ups etc on back days

 

tuesday - snatch

thursday - powerswing/snatch holds

saturday - pressing/rows

sunday - swing

 

so far so good sng

 

 

 

 

Cycle 2 week 2 snatches.....

This was tough, high reps and I was very tired and not very motivated at all (I was for the 1st attempt which would have involved getting it done early - but it wasn't to be - life sometimes gets in the way!)
Went like this -
22 x 7 reps 12kg v02 snatch 15/15
5/5 x 10 16kg snatch
5/5 x 2 20kg snatch
5/5 x 5 16kg snatch

314 reps

This was tough and my right hip DID NOT LIKE IT
but I got it done and I move on - bring on Thursday powerswings I say
That's all sng